


The Powerful One

by CharlieInCharge



Category: Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood - Fandom
Genre: BAMF Magnus Bane, Hurt Magnus Bane, M/M, Major Character Injury, Missing Persons, Worried Alec Lightwood
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-28
Updated: 2018-11-14
Packaged: 2019-07-18 13:41:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,375
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16119623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CharlieInCharge/pseuds/CharlieInCharge
Summary: A new war is starting, and this time Magnus isn't by Alec's side.





	1. Alec

Monthly family dinners had become a tradition for Magnus and Alec to host in their apartment. The Lightwoods and anyone else who wanted to attend were welcome. After the fall of Valentine and the defeat of Lilith, it became obvious to everyone that they all needed this time to reconnect and spend time with one another. 

Everyone was invited to Magnus’ loft. Everyone was allowed to bring a plus one as long as they let Magnus know so he could cook more food. One night Maryse, Max, Izzy, Jace, Simon, Clary, Maia, Luke, Raphael and Catarina had all crammed around Magnus’ small table. Some nights even Mr. Lightwood would make an appearance to spend time with all of his children. On a few particularly dull months, they’d have more than one dinner. It had become a tradition that Alec loved. Everyone that came would bring appetizers or dessert and Magnus would cook all day to make enough food for everyone to take some home with them. 

Even on the nights when it was just a couple of the Lightwood’s coming to their apartment, Magnus would still go all out for them. And Alec adored him for it. To Alec (and the rest of the family), Magnus was officially a part of the Lightwood clan. 

It was one of the nights for family dinner and for the first time since the tradition started, Alec was dreading the night. Well, maybe not dreading it, but he was nervous. He’d been busy all week dealing with crap from the clave and it had been suggested again that he was not fit to run the institute because of his “dalliance” with a downworlder. Every time he felt like he made a step forward with the clave he got pushed two steps backwards and he was sick and tired of it. 

He’d been working incredibly long hours this week and he was tired and frustrated and that led to the fight he’d had with Magnus this morning. He had contemplated cancelling family dinner tonight, which started the whole argument.

“Darling, I know you’re stressed this week,” Magnus said as he danced around the kitchen, preparing breakfast for the both of them, “but maybe this is exactly what you need. Some time with the ones you love can remind you why you put up with the clave’s bullshit in the first place.” He said the last bit with a smile and wink over his shoulder at Alec. Alec didn’t even notice.

“Cancelling tonight wouldn’t be that hard, only Izzy, Jace and Clary can make it anyways.” Alec grumbled the statement more into his cup of coffee than at Magnus. 

“Love, I’ve already started preparing the meal. Start thinking about how fun tonight will be instead of how much you’re dreading it,” Magnus said gently. Magnus was always so pleasant in the morning. He tried to be happy in the mornings to “set a precedent for the rest of the day.” Usually Alec liked that about Magnus, because he himself was a morning person, but today was not a day that Alec felt like being perky.

“Just stop cooking then. I figured you’d just order take out like the last time only my family could attend dinner.” 

The second Alec said it he regretted it. Magnus had only ever not cooked for family dinner once and that was because he had spent 18 straight hours with a sick Seelie child. He’d stayed up all through the night and into the next day with the boy, and still insisted on having dinner with Izzy and Maryse that evening. 

Magnus had always bent over backwards for Alec and his family, and Alec was making it seem like Magnus hadn’t done everything in his power to make every family dinner special. 

When Magnus turned around to face Alec there was a storm brewing behind his golden eyes. Alec knew he had messed up but he wasn’t ready to face the fight this morning. He walked out of the apartment after a few heated words were tossed between the two of them without even apologizing. 

The further away he got from the apartment, the more terrible he felt about the whole thing.

As soon as he stepped foot into the institute he pulled Izzy into his office and told her everything. She’d called him an idiot, and told him to apologize, but both of them knew that he still loved Magnus and Magnus still loved him. He just had a lot of groveling to do. 

He texted Magnus around lunchtime to apologize and say that he would explain himself tonight after family dinner… if Magnus still wanted to have family dinner that is.

Magnus simply replied, “I’ve never cancelled a dinner. I don’t plan on starting now.”

That was the only response Alec got all day. He tried texting again a few times in the afternoon, but he assumed Magnus was choosing to be angry the rest of the day and that after a lot of begging tonight, Alec and Magnus would be back to their normal selves. 

Family dinner was at 6:30. Izzy, Jace and Clary showed up at Alec’s office at 5:45 so that Alec would have time to stop by a flower shop on his way home to the apartment to buy back some favor from Magnus. He bought a dozen white lilies – Magnus’ favorite. 

Jace and Clary had heard about the fight through Izzy, and all three proceeded to give Alec relationship advice the entire way from his office to his apartment. 

“Tell him you were being an idiot,” Jace stated matter-of-factly.

“Offer to cook for the next few dinners to make it up to him,” Clary suggested.

“Offer to do dirty things tonight,” Izzy piped in. Izzy and Clary snickered at that one while Jace groaned and rolled his eyes. 

Come to think of it, it had been almost a week since Alec and Magnus had had sex. It was by far the longest dry spell Alec and Magnus had gone through since they started dating, not counting the times that they had been broken up. Maybe that was why Alec was so stressed out this week.

Alec appreciated their advice, and he knew it came out of a place of love from his siblings and Clary, but he was pretty sure that his relationship with Magnus was stronger than any relationship any of them had ever been in. Both he and Magnus had said stupid things to each other in the past and apologized for them. Fighting was a part of being in a relationship, and Alec and Magnus had come through each fight stronger as a couple. 

Alec chose to focus on how strong he and Magnus were as the group ascended in the elevator to his apartment. He and Magnus had a lengthy conversation in front of them after dinner, but Alec wanted to be sure that Magnus went to bed happy tonight.

He was so wrapped up in thinking about what he was going to say to Magnus after dinner that he didn’t even realize something was wrong as the group stepped off of the elevator. 

“Alec,” Izzy hissed at him as he walked towards his front door. He turned around to see her, Jace and Clary all pulling their weapons out from where they were previously concealed. He whipped back around and really looked at his front door for the first time tonight. It had clearly been forced open.

He didn’t even realize he had his bow in his hands as he ran into his apartment. 

He charged in, ready for a fight, to find his beautiful, immaculately decorated apartment completely trashed. The bookshelf from the hallway to the main chamber of the apartment was completely pulled over. The couch was still smoking. The Indonesian rug that Magnus had said was an important part of his history, was covered in ichor. 

Half-cooked food covered the kitchen floor mixed in with other items that had been pulled down to the ground in the fight that had ensued. The table was halfway made with broken plates and glasses shattered on the floor. A few chairs were turned over. 

And half-dry pools of blood were all over the kitchen and living room.

Alec had seen Magnus’ blood before. One night, when Magnus had insisted on helping Alec on a late night demon call, the warlock had received a cut deep into his arm. Magnus’ magic was exhausted, so they waited together in a dirty alley for Catarina to arrive and patch him up. As Alec sat there holding his formerly white shirt over Magnus’ arm, he couldn’t help but marvel at the way Magnus’ blood had a slight glimmer to it. It was like Magnus had put on and thrown around so much glitter in his life that it had seeped into his skin. The difference in Magnus’ blood wasn’t extremely noticeable, but Alec knew every little piece of Magnus, even what lay beneath the surface. 

And want lay beneath the surface of Magnus’ skin was currently splattered all over their floors, counters, and furniture. There was a lot of blood. Too much blood for someone to get up and walk away from. Alec and Izzy proceeded into the main bedroom while Jace and Clary cleared the guest bedroom and the balcony. Izzy was the one calling the shots right now because Alec couldn’t even wrap his head around what he was seeing.

Their home was destroyed, and the love his life was nowhere to be found. 

The group met back up in the living room and Izzy started giving out their orders. 

“Jace, call the institute and let them know what’s going on, you need to put together a hunting party to search the neighborhood and see if Magnus is nearby. Clary, call Catarina and get her over here, see if you guys can uncover any clues about what happened or where Magnus might be. I’m going to call Luke and Raphael to see what they know – someone as powerful as Magnus being attacked like this… they have to have heard something.” 

She turned to Alec, who was currently staring at the biggest pool of blood in the dining room, “Alec. You should go with Jace. It will do you good to be moving around instead of being here.”

Isabelle stopped and really looked at her brother. She could see him shaking.

“No one could survive this much blood loss,” Alec said. The emotion was gone from his voice but they could all see he was seconds from breaking down.

“Magnus could survive this,” Jace said firmly. Alec turned to look at him and Jace hurt for his parabatai. He had lost Clary before after defeating Lilith, and it had nearly destroyed him. He could feel Alec’s despair radiating through their bond. “He’s stronger than all of us combined. If anyone can get themselves out of this it’s him, and if he’s out there he needs us right now.”

Jace didn’t say what they were all thinking. If Magnus was alive somewhere, or hiding out with a friend they would have been notified. If Magnus was with someone, it probably wasn’t a friend. 

Alec nodded and followed Jace out of the apartment back towards the institute. The flowers he had bought for Magnus tonight were broken in a pile by the door. He wondered absently if he would ever come back to this apartment. If Magnus was dead, Alec never wanted to come back to this place again. If Magnus was gone, Alec didn’t know how he was going live without him.

The few times that Alec got sleep in the following week, he dreamt of white lilies being drenched in shimmering blood.


	2. The Druids

The druids were a particularly reclusive group of downworlders. They weren’t a large group. They had magic but it wasn’t meant to be used for anything other than healing or positivity in the world. The druids didn’t interact with other downworlders very much and they never got entangled in the affairs of the shadow world. 

They had only interacted with one warlock before and that was Magnus Bane, almost 100 years ago. The druids rarely reproduced, and when they did the children were revered members of their society. One seemingly normal day, a druid boy had wandered away from their settlement and been attacked by a demon. Magnus Bane had simply been in the right place at the right time. He had come to the forest after hearing of a powerful demon tearing apart small villages and eating kids. He stumbled upon the demon as it began its assault on the druid child and, knowing how important and rare druid children were, Magnus had risked his life for him. 

The druids had been so grateful that Magnus was offered a place in the druid community – something that, until then, was completely unheard of. Magnus had gently refused, but every few years he would check in on the druids and made sure to maintain a good relationship with them.

The druids did not see a lot of excitement from the outside world. In order to portal into the druid community, one needed to open part of a portal and the other half was completed by the druid elders. This ensured that not just any downworlder could waltz into the druid village. 

When Magnus opened a partial portal into the druid village, the elders thought he was dropping in for another unprompted visit. To their surprise, Magnus Bane stepped through the portal bloody and broken and instantly collapsed from his injuries. They set to work healing the warlock that had once risked his life for one of their own, but his injuries were severe. Even with all of their magic, the druid elders feared Magnus Bane would be dead before the day was done. 

They also feared for what had caused his many injuries. Their connection to Mother Nature told them that whatever had attacked Magnus Bane was alive, and intent on hunting him down and finishing the job.


	3. Isabelle

Catarina felt a chill creep up her spine as she stepped from the portal into Magnus’ apartment. She knew the energy that was in this place, and it was evil. She was met with a very intense looking Clary Fairchild and Isabelle Lightwood, who immediately began asking questions.

“Hello Catarina,” Izzy began, her voice tense, “Raphael and Luke are on their way to see if they can help find Magnus. We need to know if you can find anything from the energy around the apartment. Do you know where Magnus is or who would’ve attacked him?”

Catarina sighed before she answered. Magnus had gotten himself into a lot of trouble over the years, but this might be the worst situation he’d ever been in. “After you called, I tried to reach out and feel for Magnus’ magic. I can’t feel it. Either Magnus has been thrown into another dimension, or…”

“Or he’s dead.” Izzy finished for her. She felt the weight of the world settle onto her shoulders. If Magnus was dead, she didn’t know what Alec would do.

Two weeks ago Alec had been talking about looking for a ring for Magnus. He wanted to propose and make sure Magnus understood that Alec was in it with him for life. Izzy had been so happy and proud of Alec when he started talking about marriage. Now that conversation felt like it had taken place a long time ago.

Izzy, Clary and Catarina stood in silence for a moment, processing the information. To Catarina, he was her oldest and most loyal friend. To Clary and Izzy, he was already a brother-in-law to them.

“Do you know what could’ve done this?” Izzy asked, switching back into business mode. No matter the outcome of what had happened to Magnus, they needed to find who was responsible. No one messes with a Lightwood and gets away with it. 

Catarina sighed again before speaking, “Magnus had a lot of enemies.” She paused and Izzy thought that maybe she was done talking, but she could sense there was more to be said. “But I’ve felt the presence that’s in this apartment tonight. And if it’s who I think it is, then Magnus’ attack is the least of our worries. And if Magnus is dead, then we have big problems.”

“Go on,” Izzy urged. Izzy could see the fear in Catarina’s eyes. Whoever she was talking about had to be pretty powerful to make Catarina scared.

“Call your brothers and the downworld leaders. We’ll regroup at the institute and I’ll tell you all what has attacked Magnus. If he’s back on the Earth, we will need everyone’s cooperation to send him back to where he came from.” 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

An hour later and Izzy found herself standing around a table with Catarina, the Downworld cabinet, her family, and Clary and Simon. A few other important shadowhunters had also portaled into the institute after hearing of the attack. She couldn’t find it in herself to talk to Alec about what Catarina had said. If there was some small chance that Magnus was alive, Izzy wasn’t going to tell Alec that Catarina believed he was most likely dead. It was already crushing her to imagine one of her closest friends dead, it would surely destroy him. And they had a mission to focus on right now, she needed his head in the right place. 

Catarina sighed again. She was doing that a lot tonight. She was tired of fighting wars and she was especially tired of losing friends. In her bones, she believed Magnus Bane was dead, and the thought of another warlock funeral made her more exhausted than she could comprehend. 

“His name is Bouda Potens. I don’t know what Bouda translates to, but “potens” means “the powerful one” and he worked to earn that name. Whether or not the clave wants to believe it, downworlders do have souls,” Catarina made eye contact with Maryse Lightwood briefly before continuing. “And Bouda found a way to sell his soul. He was a powerful warlock, but he was determined to be the most powerful warlock that ever lived. He sold his soul to Lilith, and his reign of terror began. He was cruel before, but after Lilith took his soul, he was malicious. He wiped out entire clans of vampires, wiped out packs of werewolves, and destroyed an entire institute. He would go into cities and start killing mundanes. The more they fought back, the more painful he’d make their deaths. He spread pain and fear and he did it for fun. I saw him once. I was trying to help a group of werewolves escape him as he murdered children in front of their parents and he was smiling and laughing as the bodies piled up around him.”

Catarina shuddered at the memory. She had been barely 30 when Bouda had begun his killings, and since then, she had never seen something so purely evil. Bouda killed for fun. He killed because he could. She checked the circle of people around her and saw them all watching her with an intensity she wasn’t used to having focused on her.

“I was young at this time, and I was being tutored by Magnus,” she saw Alec suck in a breath at the mention of Magnus but continued on. “Magnus was one of five warlocks who agreed to come together to destroy Bouda. Everyone was terrified to stand up to him, but these five put it all on the line to bring his reign of terror to an end. They almost lost that fight. With the backing of Lilith, Bouda was more powerful than any of the strongest warlocks combined. Evangeline Misseipei and Caihong Cao died the day they faced him. Mohammed Asaasi died almost 200 years later from an unrelated incident. Ragnor Fell died only a few years ago. Magnus was the last one alive that was there the day they tried to kill Bouda. I wanted to be there myself, but that fight was sure to send out shockwaves of destruction, so Ragnor and Magnus had me helping people away from the area. I don’t know the whole story, Magnus and Ragnor wouldn’t really talk about it, but I do know that Bouda wasn’t killed. With no soul, it was nearly impossible to kill him. Instead, his powers were locked and he was cast into Edom. I felt his presence tonight in Magnus’ apartment. If he was back with his full powers from Lilith, then we would know about it. My guess is that he hopes to restore his powers by killing Magnus, and if Magnus really is dead, then it’s only a matter of time before Bouda starts destroying everything he can get his hands on.”

Alec’s head snapped up at that. “You think Magnus is dead?” Izzy could hear the pain in his voice and she saw his hands had started to shake again. She cursed herself for not telling him before the meeting. Getting surprised by this news in front of everyone was brutal and she hurt for her big brother. 

Catarina locked eyes with Alec and told him evenly, “I don’t feel his magic anymore. I believe that Magnus is dead.”

Everyone around the table took a moment to digest this information. Magnus meant a lot to a lot of people. He was a powerful ally and an even more powerful friend. His death was sure to radiate sadness throughout the downworld. 

Alec put his head back down, but Izzy could still see the tears in his eyes.

To her surprise, Maryse was the first to speak up. Izzy could see the fire in her mother’s eyes, and she could tell that Maryse really cared for Magnus, not just because he was with Alec, but because he had become a member of the Lightwood family. 

“If Magnus really is gone, then I want the bastard that murdered him,” she said, looking directly at Catarina. “Tell us; how do we kill this Bouda?”

Catarina sighed again, and together the group began making a plan. 

A new war was starting, and for the first time in a long time, Magnus wouldn’t be by Alec’s side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Three chapters in one night because I needed to set the story up a bit, from here on out it'll be more like one chapter a week, but I'll do my best to update as fast as I can!


	4. Alec

Everyone was stressed and paranoid. By now, every shadowhunter and downworlder had heard the story of the murderous warlock, and everyone was on high alert. 

Maryse and Catarina had already managed to get into a fight when Maryse harshly asked why there was no record of Bouda, especially if what Catarina had said about him destroying an entire institute was real. This resulted in Catarina harshly responding with, “The ignorance of shadowhunters has excluded them from much of history. Why would we report on a rogue warlock when the entire downworld would be blamed for his crimes?” which led to a fight between some of the more obnoxious shadowhunters and the downworlders who were around at the time. The shadowhunters didn’t want to admit Catarina was right; the downworld hid much of their history from shadowhunters as a form or self-preservation. 

Alec had done his best to settle this fight and calm everyone down, but he was exhausted. He had closed his eyes only a few times in the past 72 hours, and each time he had almost immediately woken up from the horrible images that flooded into his mind when his eyes were shut. 

In the past few days, Alec had done everything in his power to keep moving, but keeping busy wasn’t enough to distract Alec from his thoughts anymore. It had been 72 hours of patrols, increased security and making plans contain Bouda. As soon as they could find him, that is. All other institutes around the world had been told to look out for Bouda, but so far no one from Shadowhunters to Seelies had seen or heard anything about the rogue warlock. 

There were no leads and no new information. Magnus had been officially declared dead and the warlocks were preparing a warlock funeral to take place sometime next week.

Alec tried to be present in everything that was happening around him, but with nothing new to occupy his time, he currently felt trapped. He was trapped between his past with Magnus and his future without him. He’d think of the times Magnus had calmed him down after a long day with a hug and a cocktail. He’d think of the times when just being with Magnus made him happy and grateful that he had found someone to share a future with when he had thought for so long that that would be impossible for him. He’d think of the times Magnus would spend hours cooking for family dinners or just for the two of them, and the beautiful smile Magnus would give him when Alec complimented his cooking.

And then he’d think of his future. A future without the warlock that had changed his life and saved Alec from himself time and time again. They were supposed to get married and maybe adopt a couple of children together. They were supposed to have years together before Alec had to make the tough decision to become immortal and stay with Magnus forever or start preparing Magnus for a future without Alec in it. Alec was the mortal one with the dangerous job. He was supposed to die, not Magnus. 

Magnus wasn’t supposed to be attacked in the home they shared together after a shouting match with the man who was supposed to love him unconditionally. In a few dark moments, when Alec was alone with his thoughts he’d play that fight over again in his mind just to torture himself. He’d see the hurt in Magnus’ eyes and tell himself how much he had failed the man he loved. If he had just stayed home that day or gone home sooner maybe Magnus wouldn’t be dead. 

He couldn’t even bring his lover’s killer to justice and Alec hated himself for that. 

Alec was currently in his office choosing to torture himself when Izzy knocked on the door frame of his open office door. 

“Hey big bro,” Izzy said gently. They hadn’t talked about Magnus yet, but Alec could tell Izzy had wanted to pull him aside and talk about how Alec felt since the moment this had all started happening. Alec just wasn’t ready. He knew if he started talking he would start crying, and he didn’t know if he’d ever stop. “Catarina called me, she said she’s going to go through Ragnor’s old files to see if she can get any more insight into how to take down Bouda. She thought she remembered him talking about a way to actually kill him instead of just banishing him. She gave me the number of another warlock who would be able to help us out and portal us around if we hear about any leads to follow up on.”

“That’s good,” Alec replied flatly. He didn’t even bother to put emotion in his words anymore. Everyone knew he was devastated, what was the point of acting otherwise? “I guess if this Bouda is as powerful as Catarina says, it’s a good thing we haven’t heard anything about him yet.” 

Izzy hummed in agreement. “Alec. Is there anything in your apartment that you need? I figured you wouldn’t want to go back there anytime soon, so if you need clothes or something I can get it for you. Clary and I both need to get away from the institute for a minute.” 

Izzy was right. Alec never wanted to go back to that apartment. All he would ever be see was Magnus in that place.

“Yeah some clothes would be nice. And some pictures,” Alec’s voice cracked a bit on the last word but he kept talking, “And feed the cat please.” Alec didn’t know why he was thinking about that cat right now, but Magnus loved Chairmen Meow. The least Alec could do was make sure he was taken care of. 

“Alright Alec. Text me if you need anything.” Clary appeared by Izzy’s side as if she’d been close by and gave Alec a soft smile before both girls turned and walked away from Alec’s office. Almost as soon as they left, Jace took their place in Alec’s doorway. Alec could almost taste the concern radiating through their shared bond. Jace had been worrying about Alec for three days, and he had been sleeping less than even Alec. 

“Let’s go to a bar and get away too.” 

Alec hesitated. He should be out looking for leads, but truth be told, there was nothing to do right now. Magnus had been declared dead, and it was assumed that Bouda had destroyed the body. The downworld leaders were searching for clues but had found nothing. The shadowhunters had doubled patrols, but no one had heard or seen anything. 

Catarina hypothesized that killing Magnus had drained Bouda of energy and he was laying low until he fully recovered his strength and powers which could apparently take a while. Alec hoped that Magnus had at least caused permanent damage to Bouda. Alec knew how powerful his boyfriend was. Maybe they had even destroyed each other. Magnus wouldn’t go down without putting up quite a fight. 

But deep down Alec knew Bouda was alive. They all knew he was out there somewhere, and there was nothing they could do to keep him from regenerating his powers. 

Basically they were all waiting around until Bouda started killing more people. Alec had never felt so useless. 

So what could be wrong with having a drink with Jace?

Alec didn’t respond, he just got up and pulled his jacket on. As they walked out of the institute, Jace started to say things a few times, and each time he ended up closing his mouth again. They got all the way to the bar without saying a word between them. 

The Hunter’s Moon was almost empty when they arrived. There was one werewolf sitting at the bar, and another one that Alec didn’t recognize as bartender. Maia must be out with Luke searching for leads. Honestly, Alec was kind of shocked this place was even open. Everyone seemed paranoid after someone as powerful as Magnus had been killed. 

Jace gently pushed Alec towards a booth while he went to the bar and got them both a drink. Alec didn’t know what kind of beer was placed before him, he had decided he liked wheat beers the best after much experimentation with Magnus, but he didn’t really care right now. He couldn’t really taste anything anyway. 

“Alec,” Jace started gently. “All I can say is that I’m sorry and we will all be here for you. I thought that I had lost Clary after the battle with Lilith and that was the worst feeling of my life. I know some of what you’re going through and I’ll do whatever you need to help you through this.”

Alec nodded his head. He appreciated Jace’s support but there was nothing Jace could do. Getting over Magnus was all on Alec. 

“Did you know that on one of our first dates Magnus took me to Tokyo?” Alec smiled at the memory of the pictures they took in the photo booth. “I bought him this stupid little charm to bring him protection because I wanted to get him something to thank him for the trip and for being an amazing person to ever give me a chance to date him and it was the first thing I stumbled upon that I thought he might like. I gave him that charm and he carried it with him every day. Even when we were broken up for a little bit I saw him playing with it in his pocket once.”

Jace smiled at Alec. There were tears in his eyes, but Alec was smiling for the first time in three days. “He was a really good guy, Alec.”

“He was the best.”

Alec smiled again and took a big sip of his beer. “You should’ve seen him with Madzie. He was so good with her. Seeing them together was what made me want to adopt children. After coming out as gay I had accepted never having kids, but with Magnus I wanted to raise a bunch of little orphaned downworlders or shadowhunters with him. When I mentioned adopting to him, he smiled and said, “We could make that happen.” I don’t know if he even wanted kids or if he would just do anything to make me happy.” 

Alec and Jace sat like that for hours. Jace lost count of the number of beers they drank and the number of stories Alec told him about Magnus. Jace didn’t say much, he just let Alec reminisce on the happy times. 

That night, Jace, Clary, Izzy and Alec gathered on Alec’s small bed in the institute. A bottle of tequila was passed around the four of them and they talked late into the night. When Alec finally broke down, Izzy and Jace curled up on either side of him and let him cry.

They all fell into a deep sleep for the first time in three days. 

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That night, Catarina fell asleep on top of a pile of Ragnor’s notes. She had heard of the phenomenon of dead warlocks appearing before their friends and family for a few days after their deaths. Magnus had once mentioned that Ragnor appeared before him a couple of times. No one knew if it was a trick of the mind or if warlocks had enough residual magic after their death that they could return and comfort their loved ones. 

Either way, Catarina was slightly upset that Magnus had never appeared to her. Weren’t they close enough that Magnus would know, even in death, that she needed him right now? 

In her dreams she walked through a beautiful forest with sunlight filtering in through the tall trees. Everything was alive around her. There were flowers blooming and animals running everywhere, not at all concerned by her presence. She looked up towards the heavens and marveled at the crystal clear sky and the sunlight that didn’t hurt her eyes. 

When she looked back down, Magnus stood before her. She tried to move towards him, but found that her feet wouldn’t move forward. 

Magnus looked tired, but otherwise well. He had a simple pair of pants on and nothing else. The pants he wore were not at all his style, Catarina noted. 

Large wounds that Catarina had never seen before covered his chest and arms. The wounds had been treated, but they still looked raw. 

Neither spoke, but Magnus suddenly moved and pointed to the necklace he was wearing. Catarina hadn’t even noticed it yet. It was a symbol that she had seen before, but she couldn’t remember where. 

Catarina jolted awake and stood up from her desk. She had been in that forest before. She had seen that symbol before. Magnus was alive and was sending her a message about where to find him. 

She picked up her phone and called Alec Lightwood to tell him that Magnus was alive and under the protection of the druids. She got his voicemail and proceeded to call every Lightwood whose number she had. No one was answering. 

She changed quickly and portaled into the institute. She didn’t feel bad about waking up the Lightwoods who were exhausted from the events of the past three days. Magnus was alive, and they needed to get to him before Bouda could find him first.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't have Magnus out of the story for too long! Next chapter - Magnus is found but still badly wounded. The team finally meets the infamous Bouda. You'll have to wait and see what happens!
> 
> Your comments/kudos are appreciated!


	5. Catarina

It all made perfect sense now. Magnus hadn’t visited her in death because he wasn’t dead – just very weak. The druids’ magic had to be covering the magical signature of Magnus while still allowing him to send her a message. She wasn’t sure how he had done it; if he had half of the wounds Catarina had seen in her dreams, then there was no way that Magnus was conscious yet. If he wasn’t conscious, there should be no possible way for him to be sending out messages. She would be amazed, but Catarina had stopped being awed by how much power Magnus possessed a long time ago. 

When Catarina dressed that night she dressed simply. Black pants, combat boots and a leather jacket over a black top. She looked like a shadowhunter she thought absently. She was ready for a mission. She prayed that she would simply show up at the border of the Druid realm and receive her friend back with no issues. But she was smart enough to expect trouble. Even if Bouda had been injured in the fight with Magnus, there was no stopping him. Bouda would allow himself to bleed to death before he gave up a hunt. And with his powers on the line, Catarina knew that he would be even more dangerous than the last time she had seen him.

For a passing second, Catarina wondered if she should involve the shadowhunters at all. The last thing she wanted to do was take them to the slaughter. They didn’t understand how truly powerful Bouda was, and it was the shadowhunter way to underestimate their enemies. They’d allowed Valentine to rise because they didn’t understand how far he was willing to go – or how many people would agree with his ideals. 

Despite her hesitance, Catarina snapped open a portal into the institute. She would need backup in this mission, and the shadowhunters were the best she had right now. It was still weird for her to have something in common with the shadowhunters, but right now, they wanted Magnus back as dearly as she did. 

She strode through the portal with a confidence she hadn’t felt in days. Finally, instead of grasping at straws and having no idea how to track down Bouda, she had a purpose. 

She had portaled into the main chamber of the institute, and she could instantly see that the door to Alec’s office was closed and the light was off. It made sense – it was nearing 4 am and she was honestly relieved that Alec had managed to get some sleep. Even if she was planning on disrupting it. 

He had been looking like he hadn’t slept in days this morning when she saw him last. If Magnus could see how rundown Alec had gotten, Catarina was sure she’d be scolded for allowing Alec to work that hard. Magnus and Catarina hand come to a silent understanding after centuries of friendship – take care of each other’s loved ones. 

She heard a faint noise behind her and glanced over her shoulder. A lone shadowhunter was walking away from her down a long hallway that Catarina knew led to the sleeping quarters. She’d been in the institute enough to understand the basic layout, but she had no clue which rooms belonged to the Lightwood siblings or the Fairchild girl. 

“Shadowhunter!” She called out down the hall. She was striding towards the man before he even turned around to face her. He turned to see her walking his way and Catarina could see shock register in his face. It wasn’t every day that warlocks walked through institutes at 4 am looking like they were dressed for battle. 

“Show me to Alec Lightwoods room.” She didn’t phrase it as a question and she didn’t care if it came across as demanding. She closed the distance between them quickly with long strides. 

The shadowhunter recognized Catarina because she had been in and out of the institute for the past three days and he knew that she was helping in the investigation into the death of Magnus Bane. He also knew that if he crossed her or dismissed her and Alec Lightwood heard about it he might get shipped to an institute with a high mortality rate. Alec Lightwood had never been someone who was petty or vindictive. He had faced hatred and bigotry from all around the institute since he started and never once lashed out at the people who said even the nastiest of things about him. But recently, Alec Lightwood was like a string about to snap. And this shadowhunter in no way wanted to be the one who caused him to break. 

He simply nodded at the warlock as she walked towards him and led her into the sleeping quarters. He could feel her behind him, and he stopped suddenly after walking less than a minute. He looked back at her and pointed to a door – the third door on the left was Alec Lightwoods. He didn’t stay to see if Alec was in his room or not, he merely turned and continued on his way towards his own room. 

Catarina reached for the door that he pointed to, and it opened easily. The room was more dreary than she could have imagined. Would it kill the shadowhunters to invest in some decorations? There was a black dresser in the corner and a bed with a black frame. A nightstand was next to the bed with an alarm clock and lamp on it that looked like they were taken out of the 90s. The label on the bottle of liquor on the nightstand was the only thing with a little color to it.

It did break Catarina’s heart a little to see the four shadowhunters curled up tightly together on a bed that shouldn’t fit more than two people on it. Alec was squished between his siblings and Clary was next to Jace with her arm thrown over his side. She envied their restless sleep, but she knew how much they all needed it. Maybe they could all sleep well when Magnus was back where he belonged. 

She could have been gentle with them, and allowed them to slowly come out of their slumber, but nothing would slow her down tonight. 

“Shadowhunters! Wake up!” 

Catarina expected them to bolt out of bed and crouch into a defensive position before realizing it was her, but she had a suspicion that the empty bottle of liquor on the nightstand was slowing them down a bit. They sat up quickly and looked at her, but it lacked their usual grace. 

Alec started to speak but Catarina cut him off. “Magnus communicated with me through a dream. He’s alive so get dressed.” She tried to keep her voice level, but she knew how much weight those words carried. 

Catarina saw hope and relief pass through Alec’s eyes, and soon they were all moving as quickly as Catarina expected. 

“Jace, Izzy, Clary; get dressed quickly and meet us back here in 5 minutes.” Alec’s voice had that commanding tone that Catarina was used to hearing before everything that had happened with Magnus. He had a purpose now. Just like Catarina. 

Jace, Izzy and Clary all but ran out of the door to Alec’s bedroom and out of sight. Alec was up out of bed and pulling on fresh clothes from his dresser. Catarina didn’t get a good look, but from what she saw, there were very few clothes in those drawers and of what there was, it was all black. Magnus had been slowly introducing color into Alec’s wardrobe. If he had been dead, Catarina was sure he’d be rolling in his grave if he could see his boyfriend’s dresser. 

Alec didn’t even bother to go to the bathroom, but Catarina looked at the floor as Alec stripped his garments off and started talking a mile a minute. 

“How did Magnus contact you? Are you sure it was him? Did he seem okay?” 

Catarina did her best to answer the questions hurled at her, but Alec was asking quicker than she could answer. She tried to explain her dream and the druids and how Magnus had communicated with her, but to a non-warlock she was sure that everything she was saying sounded pretty insane. 

“Listen Alec,” She said when Alec slowed down for a few seconds. “All I know is Magnus is alive – I wouldn’t have dragged you and your siblings out of bed if I wasn’t 100% sure – and we need to get to him now. We’ll figure everything else out later.” 

The Lightwood siblings with Clary in tow appeared in the doorway. They had no questions, just looks of determination. Catarina looked to Alec and saw him walking towards her, also ready to go anywhere that had Magnus in it. 

“Bouda will be hunting him too, so be ready for a fight.” Each shadowhunter nodded in understanding to her and Catarina turned around and began opening up a portal. 

The druid village was tucked into a forest in a sparsely populated part of Eastern Europe. When the group of five stepped through the portal, it was mid-morning. Catarina had been here once before with Magnus. He had paid a visit to the druids when he was in their area, and Catarina had accompanied him as far as she could before he passed through the many wards and old magic that shielded the druids from the rest of the world. 

It was just like in her dream. She could hear the animals scurrying in the treetops and through the brush. She looked up, just like she had done in the dream and saw how the sunlight filtered in through the trees. This forest was so magnificent that it seemed more fantasy than reality.

As Catarina looked towards the heavens, she felt a presence before her. Unlike when Magnus had come to her in her sleep, she didn’t feel at peace. She felt dread settling deep into her bones. 

Instead of Magnus standing before her, Bouda appeared in the blink of an eye. Catarina had forgotten how quick he was. It had made him hard to pin down and banish hundreds of years ago and now would be no different. 

He looked different than she remembered. He was dressed in all black like her, but unlike her battle clothes, Bouda looked like he was ready for a night on the town. Shiny black shoes with well-fitting pants covered his lower half. He wore a simple black button down under a long trench coat that went past his knees. He topped it off with a black fedora with a feather coming out of it. It looked as if he had seen a picture of a businessman from the 1960’s and copied the look. 

The only thing that was the same as hundreds of years ago was that smile on his face. A smile that had haunted Catarina’s worst nightmares for years. It was the smile he wore when he was inflicting pain. It was a smile that leeched out confidence and hostility in equal measure. 

The shadowhunters came up on either side of Catarina and she could see them hesitating. Their hands were on their weapons but they didn’t draw them. They’d never met a druid or Bouda, and they had no idea if the man before them was friend or foe. 

“Bouda.” Catarina spit out. She put as much venom into that name as she possibly could.

The shadowhunters immediately drew their weapons and got into a defensive stance at her side. No one moved towards each other, but then tension was thick in the air.

Bouda’s smile grew impossibly bigger. “My oh my, Catarina is that you? It has been way too long my dear.” His tone was as condescending as Catarina remembered. That smile never left his face.

“How did you manage to crawl back onto this Earth?” Catarina questioned. She hated that she was speaking to him now, but they did need to know how he escaped so next time they could make his prison more permanent. 

Bouda put his hands into the pockets of his coat. His stance was relaxed as if he were speaking to a group of friends and not five people who wanted his head. “Did you know I can control demons now?” He asked, ignoring her question completely. “They just do as I say. I spent so long in hell that they know I’m one of them now.” 

Catarina suppressed the shudder that tried to crawl up her spine. It made sense, there had been so much ichor mixed with the blood in Magnus’ apartment that demons had to have been present when Bouda attacked.

Bouda with the backing of demons was not an enemy she looked forward to fighting.

But Catarina could see through him. Bouda had never been one to exchange words. He showed his power in blood and destruction. If he was trying to tell her how much power he had now, it must mean that he had been weakened after fighting Magnus. 

“You were always a demon.” Catarina replied, not missing a beat. “But I do remember you looking healthier. What’s the matter Bouda? Was Magnus harder to beat than you anticipated?” The smile never left, but Catarina could see his eyes narrowing even from twenty feet away. “You know I’ve grown stronger too. It comes from many, many years of living and learning on this Earth. Warlocks grow stronger with each passing year. But you would know nothing about that would you? How long were you alive before Magnus and the others put you in hell?”

Catarina knew she struck a never when that smirk finally left his face. She wasn’t sure she could beat him in a fight, even if he was weakened, but if he was trying to bluff his way around her then she would do the same. 

It was at this moment that Bouda seemed to finally see the shadowhunters surrounding Catarina. Catarina could imagine the snide remarks Bouda was planning on making towards them, but he never got the chance. 

The forest seemed to shimmer behind his back, and a group of 7 druids suddenly appeared. The druids reminded Catarina of the Silent Brothers in their simple cloaks and bald heads. The druids, however were lacking those horrible scars on their faces that the Silent Brothers bore.

The druids may not be able to attack Bouda directly, but Catarina knew enough about their magic to know that they could form barriers against attackers while lending magic and power to their allies. 

Bouda turned around and took stock of the newcomers before looking back to Catarina. She could see in his eyes that the fight was out of him for now. Catarina probably couldn’t beat him on her own, but with the shadowhunters and druids combined, Bouda wouldn't win this one. 

They locked eyes with each other again. “Even I can’t reach Magnus where he is now. Bring him out for me will you? I’d love to spend more time with the both of you.” That smile returned. Bouda turned on his heel and whipped up a portal quickly. 

“You’ll never get close to him again,” Alec spoke up beside her. He drew his bow and took a shot at Bouda’s exposed back. The arrow ricocheted and flew up towards the tree tops. Bouda must have some sort of magical barriers built up around him, Catarina noted. 

The rest made no further moves to attack or follow Bouda through the portal. He was a problem to be solved another day. 

As the group turned back to face the druids, Alec took the lead. 

“I am Alexander Lightwood, the Head of the Institute in New York City. Magnus Bane is my boyfriend.” Catarina could see the relief in his eyes as Alec got to refer to Magnus as a living entity again instead of talking about him in the past-tense. Even after coming across Bouda, there was less tension in the young shadowhunter's shoulders now than there had been in the past three days. He continued on with a strong voice. “We greatly appreciate you looking after Magnus, and we would like to take him back into our care.” 

The druid in the center nodded. None of them spoke, and Catarina wasn’t sure if they did speak or how they communicated amongst themselves. 

As quickly as they appeared, they turned and the forest shimmered around them. 

Confusion was evident in Alec’s face as he turned to Catarina. “So…? Do we follow them or...?”

“I don’t fully understand how the druids operate,” Catarina replied, doing her best to pacify Alec who was clearly nervous once again. She was tempted to chuckle at how lost Alec looked at the moment. “But they don’t typically let outsiders past their barriers. And they don’t typically put themselves in situations to have threats posed on them from the outside. Give them a minute, and I’m sure they’ll bring Magnus to us.”

The shadowhunters relaxed a bit and waited for the return of the druids. Enough minutes passed that Catarina began to doubt that they would be returning at all. Alec had begun to pace back and forth next to Catarina and she understood his anxiety. An hour ago, nothing would slow them down, and now they were back to waiting for something to happen like they had been since Magnus was attacked.

Alec turned to her to say something when the forest shimmered again. His whole body snapped towards the portal being opened by the druids. The first druid who stepped through was empty handed. Moments later others followed, carrying an unconscious Magnus on a platform between them. 

Catarina could see how Alec came alive beside her. His body language was a weird blend between utter relief and a burning need to run to Magnus. But Alec knew well enough not to rush the druids. He stood still – even though it was killing him not to move towards his lover – and waited as the druids gently placed Magnus on the ground. The druid that had appeared first nodded first at Catarina and then at Alec, and then the group turned and once again disappeared. 

Alec closed the distance between himself in Magnus in a matter of seconds. He knew that Catarina and Izzy were right beside him, but all he could see was Magnus. He cradled his boyfriends face in his hands, and even though he cried more than he thought he ever could last night, he felt more tears run down his face at the sight of his boyfriend. He was wounded, that much as apparent, but he was alive. Alec never thought he would get the chance to hold his boyfriend in his hands again. He was never going to let him go.

Catarina did a quick assessment of Magnus and determined she could move him back to New York before she started treating him. She snapped open a portal and, with the help of the shadowhunters, they brought Magnus back home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next up... Magnus finally gets to talk a bit in this thing.


	6. Alexander

The loft he shared with Magnus had become more of a fortress than a home over the past 24 hours. There were Shadowhunters constantly on patrol around the perimeter and the floor below the loft had been transformed into housing for vampires, werewolves, and warlocks. The shadowhunters even had an apartment with a temporary command center and cots set up for the Nephilim that were tired after patrol and didn’t want to make the 30 minute commute back to the institute. 

Alexander didn’t know if the floor below Magnus had always been occupied, or if the warlocks had just added another floor to the high rise to make room for the new tenants. 

Alec had been opposed to it at first – Magnus had always been a private person, but Catarina had proved to be a very convincing advocate for keeping Magnus well protected. She had appealed to the heads of the downworld council and convinced them that Bouda would make another run at Magnus, and if Magnus was actually killed, then Bouda’s power would grow out of their control. 

A few more stories of the atrocities that Bouda had committed in his previous life were all it took to convince them to turn Magnus’ building into a stronghold. 

They had requested that the clave shelter Magnus in the institute when they brought him back from Europe, but they refused on the grounds that they didn’t want another target on the back of the New York Institute. Alec had been angry initially, but within hours of Magnus returning from the dead, they had a patrol set up around the apartment that Izzy had initiated and a drove of downworlders moving in beneath them to provide added protection. 

Nothing like a common enemy to bring everyone together. Even the werewolves and vampires seemed to be getting along for now. 

It was a relief for Alec to have Magnus’ safety at the back of his list of concerns right now. It had been a full day since they’d brought Magnus home, and nothing had changed. If anything, Alec was wondering if they shouldn’t have left him in the care of the druids. 

Alec watched over Magnus as he slept – which had been Alec’s primary activity over the last day – and was terrified to see that nothing had changed. Magnus still had monstrous scars crossing over his torso and his face looked tired and sunken-in. Catarina had tried multiple times to heal Magnus, but her magic did nothing to help him. 

She had discovered a magical block placed on him. He could not access his magic and she could not use her magic to work on him. The druids had been able to heal him because their magic was natural, whereas the warlock’s magic was demonic. As a result, Magnus was trapped in a sort of limbo. He wasn’t healing, but he wasn’t getting any worse either. Catarina had tried to channel Alec’s strength to Magnus to help him heal himself, but nothing was working. 

Alec had asked Catarina if they should take Magnus back to the druids, but Catarina surmised that even with their natural magic, the druids had done everything they could to help Magnus, and that hadn’t been enough to heal him completely. She also knew that they wouldn’t take Magnus back. They were too reclusive to put themselves in the middle of a war even to help the warlock that had assisted them so many years ago. 

They only thing they could do was try to find a spell to lift the hex on Magnus, so Catarina was once again buried in books, looking for a way to help her friend. 

Alec had been so happy to have Magnus returned to him, but now he felt useless. Once again, he was stuck waiting on something to happen. 

Alec was sitting by their shared bed, watching Magnus sleep when a portal snapped open in the corner of the bedroom. Alec knew that there was no way that Bouda had access to the building and Catarina had been in and out all day so it shouldn’t surprise him to see a portal open. That didn’t keep him from grabbing his bow and quiver which had been permanently glued to his side since Magnus had returned to him. 

Catarina stepped through the portal looking as tired as the last time Alec had seen her, but with the look of purpose she wore when she stormed into his bedroom in the institute a full day ago. 

Alec dropped his bow and quiver and turned away from Magnus to give her his full attention. 

“I’ve had an epiphany,” Catarina announced as she strode across the room towards Magnus. “Hex’s don’t require that much energy to uphold once their placed, but Bouda wouldn’t waste the energy right now when he’s desperate to regain his strength. He mentioned that he’s working with demons,” She continued as her magic began pouring out of her fingertips as she hovered over Magnus’ still form. “So maybe he attached the hex to a demon.”

“What does that mean?” Alec asked standing up. It sounded like they had a lead, or at least something that they could do to finally help Magnus. That was enough to flare up the hope that had gone dormant in his chest. 

“It means,” Catarina said, a triumphant smile appearing on her face like she had found something. “That after placing the hex on Magnus, Bouda transferred the tether of the hex to a demon. I didn’t bother trying to trace it before, because I assumed Bouda was holding the hex and would have blocks so we couldn’t track him, but this is an energy I can trace.” She stepped away from Magnus and turned to Alec.

“Gather up those siblings of yours. We’re going on a hunt.” 

Alec picked up his bow and arrows again and left the bedroom to call Izzy. It felt good to have a purpose again. 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Raphael and Luke had jumped at the chance to be useful and were now on the mission alongside the Shadowhunters. Catarina had created the portal for the team in Magnus’ living room after instructing 5 warlocks to stay in the apartment and guard Magnus with their lives. 

All seven stepped out of Magnus’ loft and into a very sketchy part of Hell’s Kitchen. Jace had made a joke about Daredevil that went completely over Alec’s head as they moved through the suburb of New York City. 

“Everyone be careful,” Alec said as they quickly moved along the streets towards a small abandoned townhouse surrounded by run-down skyscrapers in the heart of Hell’s Kitchen. “This could be a trap.” 

Everyone nodded in understanding. They were all thinking the same thing, tracing the demon had been easier than Catarina had expected. 

Raphael reached the door to the building first, and out of the corner of his eye, Alec saw a flash of fur and a wolf appear where Luke had just been. Alec notched an arrow as Raphael pulled the decaying door open. The hinges protested so loudly that Alec was sure that every demon in a five mile radius was aware of their presence. 

Jace, always needing to be first, moved into the building ahead of Alec with his blade drawn high, ready to strike. The building was mostly empty as Alec walked in, apart from the occasional piece of rotting furniture that was turned over or missing sections. 

Catarina was the last in, and they all held their positions in a semi-circle with their backs to the open door as she picked up the tracking spell that she had discontinued when she opened the portal to bring them here. 

Alec heard a few quite words muttered behind him, and saw the reflection of pick magic reflected off of the walls in the dimly-lit room. 

“It’s on the floor above us,” Catarina whispered to the group. “There’s a whole nest up there. It feels like a few dozen demons.”

Alec nodded without turning around to face her, and began moving towards the staircase at the back of the room. The old townhouse had an open concept, so as Alec moved past large archways leading to crumbling shared-space rooms, he made sure to look for demons hiding around the corners.

Once he reached the stairs, he worried that they would give way before they could even make it to the demons above, He paused to activate his agility and light-footed runes before testing his weight on the first step. 

The group realigned themselves so that the shadowhunters were first with their runes to help them move silently, and Raphael and Catarina followed close behind. Luke placed himself at the bottom of the stairs, ready to spring up them in a few good leaps once the element of surprise was used up for the group after the initial attack. 

Alec reached the top of the flight, and glanced over his shoulder at another set of stairs next to the set he’d just climbed up that led to the third floor. He saw nothing on the third floor landing, and turned his attention back to the floor ahead of him. It was one short hallway before him and then one door. He approached the door, feeling Jace close behind him. It was cracked open slightly, and Alec could hear the scurrying sound of demon claws behind it. 

He pushed it open and was faced with an all-encompassing darkness. There had to be windows in this room, but they were completely blocked from letting in any moonlight. 

“Grab my witch light, Jace,” Alec murmured quietly. It was just loud enough for Jace to pick up and hopefully quiet enough that the demons didn’t hear. Alec had his arrow notched and was pointing it straight into the darkness should anything spring into the light. 

Jace sheathed his sword and grabbed both Alec’s and his witch light simultaneously, placing one in Alec’s half-open and waiting hand that still held the bow taunt and ready to fire. 

The men soundlessly called on the angel to light their way, and the witch light cut into the darkness before them. 

Catarina had been wrong in her assessment. In the large room before them, there were not a few demons, there were hundreds. There were so many that they were stacked on top of each other. And their focus turned onto the group that had just invaded their territory. 

Alec began firing arrows as quickly as he could as the rest of them jumped into the fray. In his bones he knew that they could not win this fight. 

Alec moved backwards as the demons poured outwards, and the fight was happening all around him on the small landing of the second floor. 

Alec hit the first few demons square on their round heads, right between the eight eyes, and they turned to dust, evaporating in a way Alec had never seen a demon die before. It was odd but Alec didn’t have time to ponder the phenomenon as he continued shooting the demons and proving help to the group fighting around him. Luke seemed to be a popular target with the demons, and both Alec and Raphael were doing everything they could to keep the demons off his back as his claws and teeth cut through the masses. 

“Alec!” Catarina called from her position by the staircase, firing black-colored magic at the advancing demons. “I was wrong, the demon we are looking for is on the floor above and he created these lesser demons! Kill him and they should disappear too!” 

Alec locked eyes with Jace, and in that second they understood each other. Alec had to leave this group behind to fight without his help. Jace moved from his position and came closer to Luke to help drive away the greater numbers attacking the werewolf.

As Alec turned his back to his siblings and Clary, he prayed that they could stay alive long enough for him to kill the demon that had sired those attacking his family. 

He ran past Catarina and notched one of his last few arrows as he reached the stairs again. He went up the second staircase, taking the stairs three at a time, and rounded the corner of the bannister. He had barely started his turn when something moving out of the corner of his eye made him duck as another demon leapt out of the shadows. He fired at it, dispatching it in no time. He only had two arrows left, but he couldn’t waste the time to retrieve the arrow he just fired when his siblings were risking their lives for him.

He burst into the room at the end of the small hallway, and the light on his belt lit it up. There was one lone demon. It looked like the ones downstairs: black, lots of legs and eyes, about the size of a horse. It was a bit bigger than the others but not by much. All of those hideous eyes focused on Alec, but it made no move towards him from its corner of the room. It simply watched him with veiled interest. 

Alec pulled the bow taunt and fired at the head of the demon, and only then did he realize how different this one was from the ones on the floor below. This one was much, much faster. It dodged the arrow easily, and it was on the ceiling so fast that Alec couldn’t even track the movement. It launched itself at Alec, the claws on the front legs outstretched and ready to slice through Alec’s thin armor. 

Alec rolled to the side as quickly as he could, but he could feel those claws slicing through his lower leg. The demon turned on a dime and suddenly it was on top of Alec. He barely had time to move his head out of the way of those front, sharp claws. They buried into the wood of the floor with a loud thud. He only had one arrow left, and it was already in his hands. He had meant to re-notch after first firing at the demon, but he hadn’t gotten the chance.

He shoved his arrow upward, blindly, and felt it sink into the flank of the demon. It hissed, and thankfully moved off of Alec. Alec scrambled to his feet, pulling his sword off of his belt as the demon launched another attack. Alec was sure that this one would have landed too if a burst of magic hadn’t cut through the floor and blasted the demon’s side. The force took off a few of the legs, and Alec hoped it would be enough to slow the thing down. 

He glanced over the lip of the hole in the floor and saw Catarina nod at him from the landing below. There was no way she should have been able to hit the demon from her angle, but he was grateful to her that she had found a way. Without her he was sure that he would’ve lost this fight.

The magical attack had taken off the chunk of flesh that Alec had lodged his arrow into, and it was thankfully still intact. He dove for it as the demon recovered and notched it in his bow. The beast turned to look at him, and this time Alec anticipated it jumping towards the ceiling. He sent his arrow upward a bit, and hit the thing square in one of the eyes. 

It howled in pain, and crashed back to the floor. Alec took advantage of its stumble and drew his sword again. He hacked at whatever was closest to him as he advanced on the black figure. It retreated towards the corner of the room, as Alec continued his assault. It slashed at him with its front claws, but now, Alec was able to block most of those attacks. 

He felt one land on his side as he continued hacking into the torso of the demon, but he barely felt the blow. He was too determined to kill the beast. It took dozens of slashes in the end, but one final stab to the head did the trick. It dissolved into screams and pools of ichor as the demons below dissipated. 

Alec stood there for a minute, covered in blood and ichor, and tried to catch his breath. Killing this demon had taken an extraordinary amount of effort. He hoped they didn’t have to face more like it in the future. He gathered himself quickly and turned around to run back down the stairs towards the rest of the group. 

As he reached the bottom of the staircase, he saw Luke, back in human form, being covered and treated by Catarina. His wounds were numerous, but none looked fatal. Izzy, Jace and Clary ran to him as he reentered the landing. He was relieved to see that they were scraped up but no one had any serious injuries. 

“Alec, your side,” Izzy said with worry lacing her words as he approached his sister. “That doesn’t look good.” 

Alec had initially ignored the wound, but now he could feel it throbbing against his abdomen. Jace grabbed his arm and drew a healing iratze on his skin. Alec could feel the wound close up a bit, but he knew that he would probably need Catarina’s help in closing it completely. 

It was enough for now though. He was anxious to get back to the loft. He didn’t like leaving Magnus alone for any length of time even if he was well protected. 

“Catarina can you move us back to the apartment? It’s not safe here.” Alec wasn’t totally wrong about that, but they all knew his real interest in moving back to his apartment. 

Catarina looked back at him, pausing her healing of Luke before coming to a decision. “Help me carry Luke through a portal.” Her words were directed towards Jace and Alec, but Izzy pushed her big brother out of the way as he moved to offer his assistance. 

“You’re hurt big bro,” She said gently. “I’ve got this.”

Jace and Izzy heaved Luke’s large form off of the ground as Catarina pulled open a portal on the landing that had almost claimed all of their lives. 

Raphael was the first one through. He also looked a bit beaten up, Alec noted, but he did not complain. Jace and Izzy followed with a concerned Clary hovering over Luke and offering her help to the siblings carrying the werewolf. Alec went through last.

He stepped back into his apartment, and the five warlocks that had been hovering in his living room when he left were nowhere in sight. As Jace and Clary lowered Luke onto the couch and Catarina resumed her work, Alec moved into his bedroom. 

The five warlocks were in his bedroom, hovering around his unconscious boyfriend. 

“What’s going on?” Alec asked, hysteria creeping into his words. “Why are you all looking at him?”

“He started convulsing,” Lily, the warlock that Catarina had said she trusted the most out of the group, spoke up. “He was shaking and black smoke was coming off of him but we didn’t know if we could do anything.” 

“The hex is off of him,” Alec replied, “Your magic should be able to heal him now. Help him, please.” He knew he sounded desperate, but he didn’t care right now. He wanted his boyfriend awake and well and he wanted it now. 

Lily nodded at him and red magic began pouring out of her hands. When Catarina had tried to heal him before, Alec could see the block that prevented her magic from doing anything. Now, he could see Lily’s magic going into his boyfriend’s body, and Magnus was looking better already. His face filled out and the scars on his chest went from raised, fresh-looking wounds to white scars. 

As Lily worked on Magnus, another warlock stepped up to finish closing the wound on Alec's side and the one on his leg. He didn't even notice the warlock closing his wounds. He'd have to thank him later he noted when the warlock announced he was done and stepped away from the Shadowhunter. 

Lily spent a few minutes working on Magnus as the other warlocks excused themselves from the room. 

“I’ve healed him and given him all the strength I can,” she said, focusing on Alec. “He should wake up soon, but he’ll be weak still. He’s going to need a lot of rest.”

She gave Alec a gentle smile and he returned a tight smile that was sure to look more like a grimace as she rounded the bed and left the room. She closed the door behind her, and Alec was grateful for the privacy. 

He hovered over Magnus, bent at an awkward angle over his love as he waited for any signs of him regaining consciousness. 

Long moments passed, but soon the warlock’s eyes began moving behind closed lids, and soon his yellow eyes opened to find Alec right above him.

“Oh thank the angel,” Alec exclaimed. He collapsed on top of his boyfriend, careful not to actually put any weight on him and wrapped his arms around him. He breathed in the scent of Magnus and placed a kiss on his shoulder before coming up again to look at his face. Magnus’ expression was affectionate but the exhaustion was still clear in his eyes. It was the most beautiful thing Alec had ever seen. 

“Hi love,” Magnus croaked. He coughed a bit as air was pushed through the vocal chords that hadn’t been used in days. 

“Let me get you some water,” Alec said as he pulled away from Magnus. He went to the bathroom and grabbed a glass, wishing that he had magic that he could just summon a bottle of water so he didn’t have to leave Magnus’ side. 

From the bathroom, he could see Magnus trying to push himself up on the bed. 

“No, no, no,” Alec said, trying to sound as commanding as he could as he returned to the room with a half-full glass of water. He pushed gently on his boyfriends shoulders so that he fell back into the pillows. “You’re not moving anywhere mister.”

He held Magnus as he helped him drink the glass of water in small sips. He’d never take the feel of Magnus under his hands for granted again. 

As Alec set the glass of water on the bedside table, Magnus spoke up again. “How long have I been out?”

His voice was still husky, but it was music to Alec’s ears. 

Alec turned back to him and ran his fingers through his boyfriend’s hair as he spoke to him softly. “You have been unconscious in this bed for a full day and before that you were with the druids for three days.”

Magnus looked confused at that. “Why was I with the druids?”

“I have no idea love. But we thought you were dead for those three days.”

Magnus was mystified as to how he had stumbled into the care of the druids but he refocused on Alec when his boyfriend told him that he thought he was dead. Guild panged in Magnus’ chest. He had never meant to scare Alec like that. 

“Do you remember much from the night you were attacked?” Alec asked gently before Magnus got the chance to reassure his boyfriend. 

Magnus paused for a beat. “Not really,” he said, looking around the room as if it held the answers to his questions. “I remember suddenly feeling the wards collapse, but after that it’s a blur. If I ended up with the druids it must have been a subconscious decision on my part. I must have realized that they were the only ones whose wards could block my magical signature from Bouda.”

Magnus perked up at the name, as if he had forgotten Bouda had been the one to attack him. “Bouda is alive!” He exclaimed, trying to sit up again. “You have to alert Catarina!”

Alec hushed his boyfriend, and pushed him into the pillows again. “Catarina figured that out and everyone around the world is looking out for him. This place is a fortress now Magnus. You’ll have a fit when you see how many people are here solely to protect you.”

Magnus grimaced and Alec smiled at his boyfriend. He knew Magnus would hate so many people being in his personal space. Magnus was fine to open his home up to people for a party, but he hated imposing on people. Alec knew Magnus would be upset that people were putting their lives on hold to protect him, even if protecting him was beneficial to them too. They couldn’t let Magnus die and Bouda regain his strength, but Magnus wouldn’t look at it like that. 

“Everything is being taken care of, love. Just focus on healing for now and we can figure the rest out later.”

Magnus begrudgingly accepted Alec’s words for now. He was much too tired to fight. He made room for Alec on the bed, and Alec actually let him move this time. Alec laid down, and Magnus curled his body around his shadowhunter. 

They had a lot to figure out, but for now, it was just the two of them. They reveled in each other’s presence and fell into a peaceful sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear I'll try to be better about updating more regularly now. Sorry guys!

**Author's Note:**

> Any mistakes are my own! 
> 
> Let me know what you all think :)


End file.
